Super forms of gonorrhoea on way

THE ''clap'' is making a comeback, and experts say it is only a matter of time before superbug strains of the sexually transmitted infection reach Australian shores.

Diagnosis of gonorrhoea is up 50 per cent in the past five years, and already about 4 per cent of cases could be resistant to the common antibiotic used to treat it, government figures show.

An associate professor at the University of Queensland who is developing a world-first test for antibiotic-resistant gonorrhoea, David Whiley, said two strains of gonorrhoea that were resistant to all antibiotics had also been found internationally.

The first form was in Japan, while the second was found in France and soon after jumped to Spain.

"It's basically just a matter of time before we see it globally and in Australia," he said.

Associate Professor Whiley said Australia was leading the world in developing tests to try to halt the spread of the superbugs.

Traditionally testing involves growing the bug and testing it while still alive, a process which can miss some cases. More accurate DNA tests have been developed, but they can test only for specific strains and kill the bug in the process, preventing further testing.

Associate Professor Whiley's and his team are developing a DNA test which will not kill the bacteria, allowing for highly accurate tests that are also able to pick up other strains.

When the resistant Japanese strain broke out, it was his laboratory that developed a test.

It had also just developed a test for the European strain, said Associate Professor Whiley, who will present his findings at the International Union Against Sexually Transmitted Infections world congress in Melbourne next week.

"Some of these strains are almost inevitably going to hit Australia and I want to make sure that all our labs, as soon as the red flag goes up … can deal with it before it becomes a big problem here," he said.

There were about 8000 diagnoses of gonorrhoea in in Australia in 2007, and 12,000 last year.